Logical reasoning PrepTest 134 · Section 2 · Question 24

Incorrect. No other companies are mentioned in the stimulus, and the statement about OJ isn't strong and comparative like the statement about intensive pasteurization, so this answer is out of scope.

Incorrect. This answer is trying to get you to reason that the apple juice is pasteurized while the OJ isn't, so the apple juice must be "safer." However, it's possible that OJ goes through a process that effectively removes all bacteria, or that OJ has enough citric acid to kill all bacteria. Since the stimulus doesn't provide a basis for this comparison, we can eliminate this answer.

Incorrect. While intensive pasteurization is noted as destroying flavor, it's not clear that other OJ undergoes this process, or another process that affects flavor. In fact, the stimulus doesn't discuss other OJs at all, so this answer presents an unwarranted comparison.

Incorrect. The most effective method for eliminating bacteria is intensive pasteurization, which is likely to destroy the original flavor. This answer is incorrect in calling intensive pasteurization the method most likely to destroy flavor generally—two term shifts.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Must Be True

Stimulus Summary:
McElligott — Flash pasteurizes apple juice in response to bacterial infections; doesn't pasteurize OJ because there haven't been bacterial infections
Intensive pasteurization is better at killing bacteria than any other method
Intensive pasteurization is likely to destroy flavor

Answer Anticipation:
This stimulus seems to be a bit of a disjointed discussion of pasteurization (or the lack thereof) of apple juice and OJ. However, there should be one statement that sticks out—that second statement.

The second statement has a very strong comparison—intensive pasteurization is "more effective[]" than "any other method." That includes methods discussed in the stimulus and any other pasteurization methods not mentioned. These strong comparisons are particularly dangerous because an answer can bring up an idea not present in the stimulus—intensive pasteurization would be more effective at eliminating bacteria than any unmentioned pasteurization method.

While the correct answer may build from other statements in the stimulus, this statement is a good one to focus on because of how strong and categorical it is. There's not a lot of overlap or clear inferences to be made, so let's head to the answers with this comparison in mind.

Answer Explanation:
Intensive pasteurization is more effective than "any other method" at eliminating bacteria, and McElligott's apple juice undergoes another method—flash pasteurization. Therefore, apple juice that has undergone intensive pasteurization must be less likely to contain bacteria than McElligott's, and this answer is correct.

Key Takeaway:
Must Be True questions tend to rely on the same types of statements to lead to correct answers—causal relationships, conditionals, comparisons, and strong statements. Especially when you get an overlap between two—here, a strong comparison—focus on that in looking for your answer.